---
name: "labels.conf"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "pcp"
version: "7.2.2-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/labels.conf"
---

# labels.conf(5)

Performance Co-Pilot labels configuration

## NAME

**labels.conf** - Performance Co-Pilot labels configuration

## SYNOPSIS

*/etc/pcp/labels.conf*

## DESCRIPTION

Several Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) tools and utilities support the use of metric labels. This functionality applied a hierarchical set of labels to each instance of every metric, as described in [**pmLookupLabels**(3)](/pmLookupLabels/3.md).

The [**pmcd**(1)](/pmcd/1.md) and [**pmproxy**(1)](/pmproxy/1.md) daemons are particularly important to the labels system, respectively providing the labels in real-time and then discovering recorded (archive) labels and indexing these for [**pmseries**(1)](/pmseries/1.md) queries using a distributed key-value service such as **https://valkey.io/**.

The */etc/pcp/labels.conf* file is a single point of configuration for behaviour affecting all labels exported by **pmcd** or through tools using PMAPI local context services. It uses the common \`\`ini'' file format and any variable it specifies that is not in an explicit square-bracket enclosed section is considered a \[global\] variable.

The available configuration variables are as follows :

- **machineid\_hash**=*none*\|*sha256*

  When specified in the \[global\] section, controls the manner in which the local [**machine-id**(5)](/machine-id/5.md) is exported as a label. The default setting (none) exports a "machineid" context label with value reflecting the contents of the */etc/machine-id* file, on any platforms that provide this file. The alternative (sha256) exports a "machineid\_sha256" label, instead, and the value is the SHA256 (one-way) hash of the file.

## SEE ALSO

[**pmcd**(1)](/pmcd/1.md), [**pmproxy**(1)](/pmproxy/1.md), [**pmseries**(1)](/pmseries/1.md), [**PMAPI**(3)](/PMAPI/3.md), [**pmLookupLabels**(3)](/pmLookupLabels/3.md) and [**machine-id**(5)](/machine-id/5.md).